In the Dark
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: AT. He had never hated nor obsessed over anyone or anything as much as he did her, not only because of who she was but because of what she represented to him.
1. Prompt 001: My Lover's Bed

**A/N: **This takes place in the alternate timeline of _Desired_ (which is still in the planning stages and hasn't yet been written), so events from episode 5 onwards may not match up with cannon. These drabbles are set between episode 6 and 41 (which is the duel between Asuka and Titan) from Titan's perspective. In contrast, _Desired_ will be more from Asuka's perspective.

The title is also the title of the prompt table I've used for this collection, and the chapter titles correspond to the prompts. It's from the drabble123 challenge on lj (thanks to Higuchimon since I'm really bad at finding good ones myself).

* * *

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #001  
My Lover's Bed**

He was warmer now, even with the metallic feel of his new mask. It was an odd one, more form-fitting than the old and yet it sometimes felt as though it were melting into his face. Foolish thoughts of course, as masks did not become skin, but that did not stop the chill entering his blood and stopping his heart for the briefest of moments before continuing to cramp his toes.

But that was when he had floundered in the world after being returned anew. While mere days had passed since his body and soul had left the Shadow Realm, the torture of that eternal darkness was not something he could lightly forego. The nightly chills were therefore expected, although he did not deny their unwelcomeness. Coats and boots and blankets were of no use, except leaving him in a sweat in the mornings without feeling the more pleasant effects. But he was beyond wishing for small comforts.

That did not mean he could not enjoy then when they occurred, and in all honesty it was not a small comfort but a big one. After all, beyond the stipulation of his freedom – the order to defeat seven duellists protecting the legendary demon cards – he had no desire, no aim in life. The hunt he used to entertain himself with was no longer enjoyable now that he had experienced the hunger of the shadows himself. And the knowledge that his next victim would gain a rather special place in the shadows was not readily forgotten. All that was left was bitterness and a slight fear

But the glimpse of the young woman – the beginning of his unravelling and a symbol of many things he had been unable to obtain – backing that very afternoon's dipping sun, gave him something to think about.


	2. Prompt 002: Moonlight

**A/N:** I forgot to say that these are published in the order of the prompts and not in the order of the timeline in which it takes place.

* * *

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #002  
Moonlight**

The moonlight oft signalled the start of the hunt, and it did so again that night. It wasn't often he entertained others as he made more than enough to live by marketing rare cards from duellists undeserving of them, but it was worthwhile investing a little time and effort towards a honest earning. After all, every man needed a mask to hide behind, and when that was via an unassailable legend…well, so much the better.

Perhaps though it was a little foolish to have a number by which he could be contacted, however his clients all knew that a dissatisfactory request could cost them more than a displeased duellist. So the calls he received were typically worthwhile, and a journey to Duel Academia was perhaps one of the few that gave him a wide scope as well.

After all, Chronos de Merci had simply asked him to frighten a child named Yuki Judai. That in itself was unrestricted; he intended to do a lot more than simply frighten him. After all, he had heard the legend of the hunting ground he now stood upon – the second of three details provided to him – and that, in conjunction with the knowledge that a few stray sheep would soon wonder along, made for the perfect setting.

He hadn't been expecting the rose. Or the girl who'd refused to scream until she was drowning in the shadows of her mind and refused to bend until she had been utterly seduced by his hypnotic power. But he took great satisfaction in crushing the flower, stem and all, beneath his heeled boot and even greater in setting his new marionette for its debut performance.

Such things required precision: perfection. He'd gain all there was to gain and lay the perfect stage so the kill would satisfy.


	3. Prompt 003: No More Lonely Nights

**A/N: **Enjoy

* * *

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #003  
No More Lonely Nights**

Being consumed by the shadows was worse than he had ever imagined. Later, he doubted such…_things_ –deserved the name of "shadows" for they were an unassailable flood that clogged his very veins through any crevice they found. Ironically, the feeling set a fire to his flesh as well as his mind, and he was stifled so suddenly and so completely that he found himself wishing harder than ever before that his own cold mask and bed sustained him instead of these nameless killers.

He also found himself wishing for light, even when he cursed the stars for their very existence in the sky as they impinged upon the darkness he commanded in his staged "shadow duels". He found himself wishing for a distraction, for the creatures were eating him alive and if he had nothing else, he feared he would go insane.

It was strange, that the only colour other than the dreary black that existed, was yellow. Strange symbols he had never bothered to learn. A glowing mask that mocked the one that had long since crumbled into dust. A sun that enjoyed being as far away from him as possible, mocking his earlier distaste for its luminescence. Eyes that marked the trail of agony, despite how he fought against it. But it was hopeless to fight them, and he had long since lost the ability to move.

Strangest of all was the only thing he could focus on: a small mercy in a realm that knew not the meaning of the word. For in those times the creatures fled or else hurried elsewhere, giving him a brief respite, when his mind filled with the image of an almost-woman with yellow hair who was not wholly a part of the shadows, and therefore could not be touched by them.


	4. Prompt 004: Long Dark Night of the Soul

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #004  
Long Dark Night of the Soul**

He watched her for a while after she had finally succumbed to his control. The blonde hair had tumbled off her back when she had fallen, some strands spilling over the soft grass. Her form was awkward, as if she had twisted back before collapsing…and indeed she had. Under normal circumstances, she would find herself quite stiff in the morning, but he was not a man who easily surrendered bait.

She had led him for a bit of a run…or rather, he had let her lead him. In all honesty, he hadn't needed to let the girl run or to cut her off until the hypnosis had taken control, but hearing the screams were far more entertaining then utilising the element of surprise to its full potential. She hadn't expected the stubbornness though, but it didn't really matter. After all, the night was for hunting and he, as the hunter, was in his element.

And she…she was just a little schoolgirl who had wandered too far from the nest and was now paying her price by drowning in a lonely blanket of shadow, entertaining his plans to entrap a duellist known as Yuki Judai.

And now he was certain he would be a challenge, after a mere acquaintance of his target had given him a little sport.

He knelt down to see the cards that had spilt out from their container, and scoffed. Etoile Cyber, Cyber Tutu…the cards were pathetic. Girlish. Certainly usable, but it took too many cards to build strong combinations and too many sacrifices to work them.

Foolish sentiment. That was what those cards represented. He picked up one, then reconsidered and took them all; they were worthless to him, but there were many that would pay a pretty yen for even the most ordinary of cards.


	5. Prompt 005: Shooting Stars

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #005  
Shooting Stars**

Quiet contemplation wasn't something he commonly enjoyed, but there was little to do upon a sparse hill and even less upon one so poorly placed. The girl sat at the small peak, knees drawn up to her chest and head tilted back, blonde hair loose and damp from the drizzle and yet ignored as she looked at – or for – something more important than the cold she was sure to obtain.

It was the perfect chance to ensnare her. Lost in her own thoughts, for all they were able to contain without the entirety of her soul or her deck. Oh, she still had a few cards, but he knew she had no hope of winning any sort of serious duel with them, and she knew it too. He often caught her trying to devise strategies from them and new packs she occasionally brought, while surrounded by hustle and noise, as if someone would suddenly whisper a secret she wished desperately to hear. But it wasn't easy rebuilding a deck from scraps. Much easier to make a new one entirely, however the girl was impossibly stubborn.

But at that moment, she was simply staring at the starry sky with only the night as company. Easy prey. Easy picking, for him to rid himself of a loose end…or use her to eradicate a certain thorn in his side.

So why was he still standing there, and out in the open no less?

'Why are you standing there?'

She turned to him, face free of fear.

'Is that an invitation?' he returned.

The girl – almost a woman – turned her head away again. 'Take it however you want,' she answered coolly.'

'You realise that a pretty young girl out on her own at this time of night is easy prey.'

She shrugged.

He sat.


	6. Prompt 006: Dancing in the Dark

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #006  
Dancing in the Dark**

He could have had any girl naked and at his feet…except her it seemed. But at least she seemed uncomfortable, constantly tugging at her collar and glaring daggers into her drink as though she would somehow be able to turn it into something less intoxicating. She had sipped a little at it though, but it had the counter-measure of putting a look of weariness and distaste upon her face.

He swirled his own drink, letting his thoughts flow into the ever-changing colours. The scene was, for him, not an unfamiliar one, although for his arguable date, it had to be the first time she had ever stepped foot into such a place. The administration was rather shoddy though in the underground, so nobody noticed or really cared he brought a girl four years below the legal drinking age an alcoholic brewage.

Not that he told her, but it seemed she was bright enough to at least suspect the drink was spiked. A childish notion, as if one could describe it as spiked with anything, that something would be water. He preferred finer methods for ensnaring his prey, but what he was after in this instance was loosening her tongue.

Her voice though was still rather clipped. 'Would you kindly tell me why you have brought me here?'

At least she was straight to the point. 'I have a proposition,' he answered. 'I have something you want, and you have something I want.'

'A simple trade which we could have talked about elsewhere,' the girl returned with a glare.

'I think not.' She had no idea what she was messing with. 'This matter is far more delicate.'

'I want information.'

'And I can give you that…for a price.'

She fell silent. 'What price?' she asked finally.

He left that meeting satisfied.


	7. Prompt 007: A Midnight Clear

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #007  
A Midnight Clear**

Things were starting to quieten around him, and he liked that better than the falsetto atmosphere. One could argue he had chosen the establishment…and he had. That didn't mean he intended to burn his eyes, or his intestines, away to nothing.

The drink in front of him was bitter, and if he drank more than the merest sip at a time, the burning down his throat was enough to make him lose his dinner. Worthy of the name it had earned for sure, but enjoying it slowly had its benefits, and more than just the money he saved on not having to refill on the weaker stuff.

It also let him stay as long as he wanted without being accused of loitering, and it begrudged most company too with its unique aroma.

Unfortunately, the bartender was not "most" company, as he had been desensitised from serving it for however long he had associated himself with the glamorous dump. So when he wasn't entertaining customers, he was being rather annoying in his pestering.

'Girl troubles?' he asked for the uptenth time.

'Hardly,' Titan responded, pushing as much steel into his voice as possible.

The bartender however was not discouraged. Apparently, he was desensitised to the "tone" of death as well. Glares accomplished the same result.

Titan sighed; he supposed he had no choice but to humour the man…or cross the place off his list of future visitations. The clear liquid in the glass gleamed innocently in the darkened light, and he sipped a little more, drawing out the liquid as it trickled with the slightest trickle down his throat.

'Let's just say a certain young lady is being an annoyance, and the sooner she's out of my life, the better.'

The bartender chortled, and the other scowled before taking another swig.


	8. Prompt 008: Dark Desires

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #008  
Dark Desires**

They weren't the first cards he failed to steal, but Red Eyes Black Dragon was really a catch he couldn't afford to let permanently slip through his fingers. It appeared though he had little choice once the boy left for Duel Academia; was the profit from a card that was almost on par with the Blue Eyes White Dragon that only Kaiba Seto possessed worth the trip?

He decided it was, and for many a day later he would curse the day he decided as such. For the trip to Duel Academia couldn't have been taken at a worse time.

He hadn't been in a particular rush; it wasn't like the card would just wander off the island, and if it did, so much the better for him. He wasn't fond of boats in the least…but it wasn't as if he could afford a helicopter to the place. He wondered if paranoia was a part of Kaiba's aging, for who in their right minds built a school in such a secluded place? The duellists that came out would be wet behind the ears, their exposure to the real world not even worth noting. And so he took care of a few other jobs, courtesy of street gossip, before making the trip at a time that was most convenient.

For when children weren't in the umbrella of the institution that protected them, they were far more vulnerable. And he took advantage of the unrest – or attempted to. However some fool had opened up the real Shadow Games, something he never wanted to bear witness to again, and the Red Eyes Black Dragon and its owner became lost in it, giving rise instead to a cocky brat thinking he could blast _him_ into oblivion.

And some _voice_ had the gall to interrupt.


	9. Prompt 009: The Night We Met

**A/N:** This one is set the year before Fubuki starts at Duel Academia. Since he's the same age as Ryou and Ryou is in his third year when Asuka is in her first, Asuka is around twelve here. Titan is just treating her younger (so is Fubuki in a sense). Her deck also isn't quite her Cyber Girl version yet.

* * *

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #009  
The Night We Met**

The area was relatively safe, but children should still know better than to stay out late without an adult. Especially young girls.

He came closer, finding she was playing with cards. Duel Monster cards to be precise. Cheap cards too: he spied Warrior Lady of the Wasteland and Warrior of Tradition, though there were a few rarer ones like Hallowed Life Barrier. And then there was Fusion Gate, something actually worth singularly selling.

'Well, hello little girl,' he said, kneeling down. He didn't bother pretending to be amiable; the mask and coat spoke volumes, and the slight undertone more so.

The girl, who couldn't be more than twelve, looked up. 'I shouldn't talk to strangers,' she said stoutly.

Titan ignored her. 'Duel Monster cards I see. Would you entertain a lonely man with a duel?'

The blonde took a small breath, then gathered her cards together. The other man knelt down to help, but the girl snatched Fusion Gate from his fingertips.

He grabbed her wrist instead. 'That's not nice,' he said menacingly.

'Neither is manhandling my little sister,' a new voice interrupted.

'Onii-chan,' the girl exclaimed happily as the other let go of her.

The newcomer looked at the girl, before turning her gaze to the man. 'Did I hear you say you wanted a duel?' he asked. 'You can duel me then.'

'What would I get out of duelling you?' the man sneered.

'What would you get out of duelling Asuka?' came the reply.

'My Fusion Gate,' the girl piped up, holding her cards protectively. She was apparently a sharp one.

'Well then.' The boy brought out a deck of his own, going through them before extracting one. 'Red Eyes Black Dragon,' he said, showcasing the card. 'I'll ante this up in exchange for you leaving Asuka alone.'


	10. Prompt 010: Nightmares

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #010  
Nightmares**

He'd long damn the day he first witnessed a true shadow game ten times over, but that didn't accomplish anything. Replicating reality and capitalising on it to achieve other things was more productive, if a little less satisfying, but his research had amounted to nothing but bitterness and there was nothing else for him to do. Nothing had ever been as dear to his heart as his research, and the truth had twisted it into something ugly.

Holding on to that was the only thing he had. Turning his nightmare upon others…and to live, he made profit from it, sucking on the juice of lemons without the extra taste. So it was doubly frustrating when it didn't seem to affect certain people. He could take that though. He could take being called a fake…because he normally defeated them anyway, those who had the lip but not the power to back it up. But to try to turn his weapon against him was something he could not abide with – because he, like all wise men, hated fear.

Which was why that one boy stood out in his memory; of all the opponents he had ever faced, that one person remained with a name, a shape and a form. The Red Eyes Black Dragon mocked him. Sometimes, in that darkness of the Shadow Realm, he could hear its snarling laughter as the red eyes gleamed at him.

He quickly forgot who it was who banished him there, and when he did remember he saw the blank confusion and the miserable fur ball who had saved him from a similar fate. Hane Kuriboh, a card that appeared worthless but was a rarity in itself, but he hadn't seen it until the end despite the rumours.

Red Eyes Black Dragon was a different story.


	11. Prompt 011: Saturday Night's All Right

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #011  
Saturday Night's All Right**

It had been a long time since he had last set foot in Duel Academia, and he was looking forward to his next visit.

Actually, the island hadn't housed its school back then, however the demon cards had existed, as well as the ruins that possessed the ancient carvings of their form. Most of the power had been leeched away when Pegasus created the cards but those ancient ruins were still of great interest to a researcher like himself.

It was those ruins however that had changed his life, and no-one knew where those cards lay hidden, so there was never a reason to return. Sure, the Academia would most certainly host interesting cards on occasion with the number of duellists that collected there, however an island was no long-term place for a hunter. In fact, one could never know if it was even worth the trip across the ocean – the bigger cities always had more fruit to be picked.

Once he was done with this job – and for a good pay as well – he could look around. After that unsatisfying duel earlier, his night was starting to look up.

But first, it was time to milk the earnings from the most recent deck he had obtained, and it wouldn't do to become drunk on the prospects of new success. After all, the most profitable man was one who could turn any opportunity into success…and now that he considered, it was a good thing he hadn't followed his first instinct and robbed the quaking man who called himself a teacher of his sanity. After all, what could the poor fool have in his deck that would exceed the yen he was handing to dispose of a duellist. A duellist who would provide good sport…and more cards to seize and sell.


	12. Prompt 012: Electricity

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #012  
Electricity**

He wondered if he should offer a hand, then reconsidered. Surely it would be much more fun watching the girl crawl home on all fours.

Still, it looked like that wouldn't be happening any time soon. He was on his third glass and both duellists still had over a thousand life points. In fact, the duel was trying his patience a little. Most of the girl's deck were cheap cards; whatever she could scrape together from random booster packs and the discount rack. He knew she could afford better. _She_ knew she could afford better, but stubbornness prevented her from taking any good cards unless they were replacing the ones she lost.

God knew how she remembered which ones those were, since he had asked and she'd been unable to answer. She'd tried reporting the theft too, but all she'd been able to come up with was Doble Passe. So that was the only one she got back with minimal effort from her own part.

And she had just played it. Sure Raging Flame Sprite's attack strength went up during direct attacks, but she still took more damage than she could really afford to take.

The laughter from her opponent said she also wasn't handing the said damage all to well in her inexperience. But when duelling against one from the underground, one tended to learn things the hard way. But one would think she'd learnt not to be so careless with her life points.

He just shook his head and sighed. Apparently, you couldn't teach an old dog new tricks. Hell, even with most of her cards spread across the city's darker streets, she hadn't changed her playing style. Maybe her monsters were different, but their effects were largely the same.

Or at least they accomplished the same thing.


	13. Prompt 013: Tender is the Night

**A/N:  
**Out of curiosity, who's interested in seeing the main story (which is quite long actually)? This is just a taster after all of _Desired_.

* * *

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #013  
Tender is the Night**

He sipped on his cocktail in a shadowed corner of the room. His glass was quite tall, allowing him to put his elbow on the table and lean his chin upon his palm and able to sip at the straw that stuck out. It was only advantageous though when there was something interesting to be watched however…but that night, there was, on a table in the centre of the room.

A duel, using the old fashioned arenas as opposed to the state of the art duel-disks, but it was customary to use the arenas in establishments such as the one they were in. The duel however wouldn't have been of particular interest to him – although it was possible a rare card would come up – except for the girl who was duelling.

So far she had all her life points, and he was looking forward to her reaction when she lost some. At the moment she had Red Archery Girl on the field in attack mode, but her opponent had summoned out Cyber Prima and shattered whatever equip card had been saving the normal monster.

And Asuka was about to be struck down by a card that had once belonged to her.

He watched the woman in silver strike the aqua monster, destroying it easily with 900 of the other's life points. The special function of the duelling arena kicked in, sending a light shock through her system and she gasped a little, clearly not expecting it.

The men laughed at her. She narrowed her eyes and proceeded with her turn. To her credit, she commanded Amazoness Trainee, Ego Boost added, to strike down her former monster and the ante of her duel without hesitation.

She winced though at the shock that struck her opponent. However that failed to discourage her.


	14. Prompt 014: Insomnia

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #014  
Insomnia**

The dorm, despite being abandoned now, didn't look much different than what he remembered. The coffin – who knew what it was for – was still there on one side of the room, and the symbols that were all too familiar carved into the floor.

He stepped on to them. He would have crushed them under his feet if he were able, but that was beyond his capabilities. It wouldn't matter though; soon, his mist would cloud the floor and his darkness would cloak the dorm, transforming it into his own world. A world that he had complete control over.

But first, he had to finish setting the stage. The girl lay unconscious in his arms, and he placed her artfully in the empty coffin. It was strategically placed – without any help from him – where it would be seen immediately by one passing through the door.

The perfect place to put a…hostage, if one chose to call the girl that. Perhaps victim would be a more appropriate term though, and one perhaps not worth duelling. The cards looked weak, and the blue skirt said nothing to him. After all, all girls at Duel Academia were in the Obelisk dorm, so their abilities were largely questionable. And he hadn't heard of many girls making it to the pro leagues, and even those that did, like Kaguya Mai, were pretty easy to defeat once one got under their strategies.

This Yuki Judai however sounded like interesting prey. And he would enjoy relieving the boy of whatever rare cards he held…along with some foolish confidence while he was at it.

The girl in the coffin shifted a little, then woke with a startled gasp, only to meet the mark of his pendant and find her vision swimming again before falling unconscious.

No-body would be sleeping though that night.


	15. Prompt 015: Blackout

**A/N:** Need to squint for Asuka in this one.

* * *

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #015  
Blackout**

Fear was the most satisfying part of his trade, and Dark Arena was the perfect spell to invoke it. Most opponents – all actually – didn't know the spell affected both sides of the field…at least in terms of choosing attack targets. But the darkness was a strong asset that most foolishly feared and it always aided him in achieving the upper hand. Where the darkness itself failed to unhinge his opponent, the field spell's effect wrought havoc upon any strategy they attempted to set up.

And then there was Pandemonium, the next best thing. While it didn't descend the field into a veil of utter black, the grey smoke and rising pillars were enough to make for a scene out of a horror film. And while he duelled more adults than children – for few children had cards worth taking the fair way and most good cards could be tricked out of them by other methods – it was almost astonishing how the maturity of age crumbled in the face of such scenery. His demons were just the icing on top.

And if those should fail, there was his little bit of "shadow magic". The pendant he wore around his neck, mimicking the well known effects of the real deal – not that he would ever tell that to his opponents. And then there was the added effect, for while he could do a great many things, he was unable to perform an authentic mind crush. Who needed to though, when he could hypnotise instead, erasing all traces of their duel and taking his prize in their unconsciousness and leaving them to awaken in fear and loneliness.

There were a few though who managed to get past his array of party tricks – Yuki Judai wasn't the first – but they all payed a hefty price.

(Titan's field spell)


	16. Prompt 016: By Candlelight

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #016  
By Candlelight**

'Do you make it a habit of taking young women out to dinner?' Asuka asked, tone carefully controlled.

The other had to give her credit. The place wasn't half bad, but he was sure her family could afford better. The atmosphere on the other hand was one that was largely intimidating if one wasn't accustomed to the darker side of nature.

'Not at all,' the other countered smoothly. 'Most women your age aren't worth…investing in.'

'Oh?' she raised an eyebrow, lips pursed into a tight frown. 'Compliments won't get you very far with me.'

'I can see that.' He looked at her own mask, embezzled with dull sequins. Her eyes however were not covered and their natural hazel were set on display with her attire; apparently, she was yet to learn the value of a mask. 'Nice mask,' he said off-hand.

'Perhaps the connection between your eyes and your brain has short-circuited,' the other bit back.

'Oh no…' He chuckled lowly. 'I was just thinking how vulnerable it made you look.'

The slight twist of cloth was all he needed to confirm the notion. After all, he could hardly expect someone as stubborn as her to affirm it verbally.

'I would rather not be named,' came the frosty explanation.

'I'm sorry to say then that your hair makes you stand out a little.' After all, blonde wasn't the most common hair colour in Japan. 'And your eyes don't exactly help matters.'

'Blonde hair and hazel eyes aren't as uncommon as you might think,' the girl responded.

'No…but what I do think is that you're afraid. Of me. Of this place.'

She quickly drank a little of her beverage, a slight wince crossing her face as she detected the foreign taste.

'Not to your liking?'

She set the glass down carefully.


	17. Prompt 017: Hot Summer Nights

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #017  
Hot Summer Nights**

So she called herself a duellist first and a woman second.

If she wanted to shock herself and fill her body with drugs for something she could attain without injury, then that was her problem. It only made her a fool. An appealing fool though for the interest she managed to accumulate in every battle she fought and won.

Maybe he would have enjoyed that spectacle more if she wasn't making a mockery of him at the same time. Granted, most of his customers did not know the identity of the hunter that had stolen the cards for them, but he invested a small portion of personal pride in each capture, and it simply would not do for them to return to their owner in such a manner.

Especially when they had looked so weak he had almost dumped them in the charity bin.

But watching her duel made him angry…but also rather uncomfortable. The weather was getting somewhat warmer, so his black trench-coat was becoming a little heavy and scratchy…and soon to be unbearable. _She_ was still causing a minor commotion, determined to accomplish some foolish sentiment. And he was still watching her every move, waiting for his chance to strike with her guard down…

…and accomplish what? Breaking her was still high on the agenda, but any idea he came up with was quickly rejected. He promised her a duel, but that would not come for a time yet; there were other matters that would occur, of no relevance to them. He also promised her something else…which seemed foolish in retrospect as it held little benefit to him, except that…maybe…

Yes, he could do that. And by breaking his spirit once and for all, he could attain his revenge and his pre-ordained task in one fell swoop.


	18. Prompt 018: Before Sunrise

**A/N:** This one is intentionally vague because of the rating. I didn't want to change to M for one drabble. _Desired_ on the other hand will be rated M as a whole...if I ever get past the first paragraph.

* * *

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #018  
Before Sunrise**

Asuka was as silent as the night beside him…which was an odd analogy in most senses because she looked more like the sun's child at first sight. Her name of course suggested otherwise: "tomorrow's fragrance", and the tomorrow wouldn't come until the night had passed. Her hair however, and her eyes, and determination most of all, those were all attributes of the sun.

Her female status however was one of the night.

If he thought about her brother, he found himself in the opposite predicament. Sun by birth, night by nature…but that was too simplistic for the both of them, and he knew it all too well.

He also knew he had succeeded in breaking her…if only in his own mind. He knew she wished to be a duellist before a woman; it was obvious in the lengths she went to reattain her cards. She could have done it the easy way. Steal them back as they had been stolen from her…or hire someone else to do it, as she could probably afford. She could use her appearance and her femininity to her advantage…but it was something she had refused to do even when the possibility had been lain at her feet.

Instead, she'd duelled for them, and won them fair and square…if one could call the conditions "fair", or "square" for that matter.

And so he had broken her, diminishing her to a woman where her cards and her duelling aptitude meant nothing. But only in his own mind, for she had accepted his price and surrendered to it for what she would receive in return. And she had refused to cringe away from him, to show her reluctance or her distaste and instead to save herself the only way she could.

He'd be damned if he let her.


	19. Prompt 019: Last Night on Earth

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #019  
Last Night on Earth**

Yuki Judai stood in the shade of the sun. The same person who had robbed him of his chance to defeat Darkness, or Tenjoin Fubuki, on his own terms. The same person who had defeated him once before. The same person who had also defeated three of his comrades while defending his spirit key.

The same person who would be his next opponent, for this matter was clean and swift and not riddled with nearly as much complications as the last few months with Asuka had been. In fact, it had been a relief when the summons had come; when even the strongest shot failed to drown certain matters, destroying a strong opponent managed to do the job –

Or he hoped so anyway. He was angry, certainly, but there was no pleasuring thrill through his back as in his previous hunt. Part of him in fact wanted to challenge the boy right then and there, if only for a quick match…and a quick victory, for this time his deck was more carefully crafted, taking the tricky Elemental Heroes and their support cards into consideration, as well as the boy's lucky break. But at the same time, another part of him wished to prolong the duel, and not because he was unconfident in the outcome. _That_ part of him wished to cast aside the deck entirely; once a means to an end and perfectly safe, it had become a deadly gambit.

A shadow fell upon him before he had come to a decision, and he found with an ironic smirk that he wasn't all that surprised. It seemed to be happening a lot, only in reverse.

'Why are you standing there in the shadows?'

'You promised me a duel,' the other responded, holding up her spirit-gate key.

'I suppose I did.'


	20. Prompt 020: Writer's Choice

**A/N:** I took advantage of the freebie to put in the last physical Titan-containing scene in _Desired_ (based on its current plan, and it's come a far way from drabble 1). _Desired_ will extend a little beyond that to wrap up Asuka's end and any floating bits of plot.

* * *

**In the Dark**

**Prompt #020  
Writer's Choice**

He had lost, and the shadows consumed him again. The mask fell from his face as if it had never been apart, and his wide eyes fell upon the girl who had, with her brother, utterly destroyed him.

She stood there still, a fire in her eyes he always knew she possessed but had, until that moment, never seen. It seemed woefully unfair, that a little bout of revenge had led to such a complicated turn of events, ending finally in him undoing everything he had ever worked to achieve and destroying any hope of the future in the process…

But simultaneously, he had gained things that could not be taken away. For something was always born when one life met another, despite how inconceivable it would initially seem. Those…relationships, as best as they were described, were beyond the shadow realm's capacity to cease, so he clung to his one comfort as he screamed and convulsed as the slimy coldness shot through his veins, clinging to the blonde goddess that had kept him sane until the doors had opened again.

Perhaps they would open a third time at the end of the world, when the three demon cards were released from their eternal prison and unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. When the coveted power to control the world was born and the world itself changed – but he was not naïve enough to think he would have any part of that, nor would it hold any value for him. After all, Tolkein had always been a favourite, and particularly Gandalf's famous line: "there can only be one lord of the Ring, and he does not share power."

But what use was power, in the end? His power, his impenetrable wall, had been defeated by love and hope, unattainable through the hunt.


End file.
